Praise for Employees Crosses Many Divides

Praise for Ocean City Employees Was A Theme of Tonight’s Town Council Meeting

At the final town council meeting for Ocean City before tomorrow’s election, council members, top-ranking officials, and residents seemed to be in a competition for who could offer the most heartfelt praise of the work of Ocean City employees in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.  City manager David Recor praised the employees in his comments near the end of the meeting, citing their effort as one of the keys to how Ocean City was able to come through the storm suffering relatively little structural damage.  Joe Groves, a spokesman for the Citizens for Ocean City group, lauded town employees as “the greatest employees in the world.”  Even councilman Joe Hall got in on the act, echoing the sentiments that were often the dominant theme of the meeting.  Mayor Rick Meehan, for his part, singled out the efforts of the Public Works department as particularly worthy of attention in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Agree with the sentiments expressed last night, and looking for a way to say “thank you” to all the town employees for their tireless efforts in cleaning up after last week’s storm?  Go to the polls tomorrow and vote YES on the charter amendment, and give the general employees the right to decide for themselves if they want collective bargaining or not, just like their colleagues in the police, fire, and emergency medical departments!

Efforts of Ocean City Employees Garnering National Notice

Ocean City general employees received some praise on the website of the American Federation of Teachers, a national union representing teachers, public employees, nurses, and other workers in an article published November 2nd:

In Ocean City, Md., city employees braced for the storm days before Sandy hit the coastal community, and followed that up with damage assessment so that city facilities could be reopened. Emergency personnel not only responded to calls during the storm, but also continued to assist residents and visitors upon their return to Ocean City, working closely with the Maryland State Highway Association, the Maryland State Police, the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Guard to make sure the town was safe.

Public Works staff assisted in picking up debris, transporting citizens to and from shelters, and cleaning up the beach. Countless other employees and volunteers worked around the clock monitoring the storm, staffing the Emergency Operations Center and meeting the needs of city residents, businesses and visitors before, during and after the storm. Damage was limited to beach erosion, flooding and marginal debris in some places, but the Ocean City Fishing Pier was severely damaged.

General city employees in Ocean City are in the midst of an organizing effort, and are watching a ballot measure that will determine whether they have collective bargaining after Nov. 6.

The whole article deals with the contributions made by public employees up and down the east coast in the aftermath of Sandy.  You can read the whole article here.

Praise Continues For Ocean City Employees

Crews of General Employees were out early this morning continuing the clean up from Hurricane Sandy.

Ocean City employees continued to receive many compliments this morning for their efforts in quickly and efficiently cleaning up from this week’s storm.  On OC 104 this morning (103.9 WOCQ) on the Hip-Hop Coffee Shop Show, one of the hosts, Bill Baker, observed that the employees of Ocean City were doing a great job, and Mayor Rick Meehan responded that the employees have done an extraordinary job with the clean up efforts, including collaborating with state agencies, and how the town should be grateful for all of their efforts.

In the Ocean City Today, in the Public Eye section, Stewart Dobson praised Ocean City employees who were cleaning up in his neighborhood, and a letter-writer singled out Ocean City Transportation workers for thanks for a job well done.  The picture above was taken this morning, as crews of general employees were out ensuring that the Boardwalk would be cleaned up and ready for traffic again come the weekend.

Please remember to support these city workers by voting FOR the charter amendment, and please remember that a vote FOR doesn’t automatically give them the union – it just gives them the right to decide for themselves.  It gives them the democratic voice they deserve!